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Original poster

Earplugs at night 3 month old

65 replies

extrastrongnosugar · 08/12/2018 07:41

so yesterday my husband manned up and gave me a night off from our 14 week old baby boy, who still wakes up every hour/hour and a half at night, finishes two bottles at night (he is a big boy) and doesn't nap more than half an hour during the day. So far so horribly usual, both my older girls were exactly the same but with reflux. Fml I know.
Anyway I woke up to expect/anticipate his stories of horror (and also wake up to his newfound understanding of the state Im in), but I still cannot believe it:
the little one slept from 10pm to 2am and then from 3am to 5am!
that hasnt happened to me in 3 months!

Turns out that DH popped in earplugs when he went to sleep.

That would have never occured to me as I would be afraid to not hear if baby has some sort of issue. But it obviously was fine (this time).

Is sleeping with earplugs next to your newborn a thing?

What do you guys think of it?

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 08/12/2018 08:52

Dummies can be an issue too. When my dd started waking every hour looking for it I got rid of it and she slept better afterwards.

dementedpixie · 08/12/2018 08:53

You said he slept on his back though

Spudina · 08/12/2018 08:57

I remember going to the GP with DD1 in floods of tears, with horrific PND and just exhausted because I wasn't sleeping with her being next to me. The GP recommended earplugs and it really saved me. Like PP have said it blocks out all the little noises, but you can still hear crying. I managed to keep both my DDs in my room for the recommended six months thanks to those little yellow foam wonders!

MuncheysMummy · 08/12/2018 08:58

I wouldn’t put baby to sleep on his tummy no matter the circumstances!

Nothisispatrick · 08/12/2018 09:10

I always sleep with ear plugs in. DD grunts and snuffles like a frigging pig. She sleeps next to DP but I still wake up before DP when she wakes up.

Cornishclio · 08/12/2018 09:10

Surely once the baby can roll they could end up on their tummy's anyway? Years ago the advice was to put them on their tummy's rather than backs but I know SIDS guidelines now say back. Sometimes I think babies wake from habit when they are older and big babies. Whilst I would not resort to earplugs I would definitely not go to them at the slightest move. Give them a chance to go back to sleep. Not screaming obviously but if they are just wingeing maybe leave him five or ten minutes.

CottonSock · 08/12/2018 09:13

I wear earplugs and still hear my dd wake up from the other side of the house...she's 2.5 now. I usually wake before dh who doesn't. I def needed them when she was next to me.

Weenurse · 08/12/2018 09:22

We were told to put them down on their backs with feet touching th bottom of the cot and no toys or bumpers. Nothing about sharing a room that I remember from 20+ years ago. Could be I did not listen though.
Luckily 2 healthy young adults now.
I like the idea of ear plugs though, if I had thought of it then, might have shared a room longer than the first 2 hours the first night home!

Original poster
extrastrongnosugar · 08/12/2018 09:22

Ok tonight I'll give it a try, I'll put him down to sleep on the back and stuff in earplugs and will be waiting for my miracle.
Wish me luck!

OP posts:
ThatOneHurt · 08/12/2018 09:23

14 weeks isn't newborn.

Your husband is lazy.

I have no other answers.

dementedpixie · 08/12/2018 09:25

How is the husband lazy? The baby didn't scream the house down and everyone got some sleep

Original poster
extrastrongnosugar · 08/12/2018 09:25

no doubt ;)
and still feels pretty new to me:)

OP posts:
Weenurse · 08/12/2018 09:35

Good luck 💐

ThatOneHurt · 08/12/2018 09:38

How is the husband lazy? The baby didn't scream the house down

Didn't really matter if the baby did. The husband fully planned to ignore any noise coming out of the baby. What with the ear plugs.

ThatOneHurt · 08/12/2018 09:39

Also it isn't just crying that the ear plugs would cancel out.

Gurgling, vomiting, choking, coughing, wheezing.
All those noises would be cancelled out too.

But what would I know?

dementedpixie · 08/12/2018 09:43

Yes what would you know? They dont totally cancel out noise, they make it quieter. I must be lazy too because I used them when mine were babies as dh snores and the babies made lots of noise. I still heard them wake or cry before dh

ThatOneHurt · 08/12/2018 09:51

dementedpixie I don't mean to spell out the obvious but you seem to really be missing the huge thing here.
The ear plugs are to stop the parents waking to noises of the baby.
Hopefully full on crying would wake them despite the ear plugs.
Certainly the OP feels that she would have woken had her DH not woken.
But the noises that are quiet and dangerous and are no where near the decibels of a crying infant?
If the ear plugs work to stop the parent waking snuffles and noises the baby makes (or why wear them at all?) then why would they not wake to the quiet and dangerous noises that should be heard by the parent?

Wheezing, for example, is not a loud noise at all.

By your account, you would wake up this but not the other noises that you didn't want to hear? Selective ear plugs perhaps?
I don't think so.

LittleScottieDog · 08/12/2018 10:16

I'm hard of hearing so wear two aids. Taking them out is akin to putting ear plugs in, I guess. I can't hear DH talking normally next to me in bed without them.

I was greatly reassured by this thread that so many people go through the night with, essentially, hearing similar to mine and that my newborn will be okay despite my disability. But now I'm worrying about what I won't hear. I suppose I'd just better hope DH wakes up for all these quiet, dangerous noises.

Notacluethisxmas · 08/12/2018 10:23

The husband fully planned to ignore any noise coming out of the baby. What with the ear plugs.

No he didn't.

I never used ear plugs neither did exh. I don't have a dog in this fight, as it were.

But thatonehurt you are talking rubbish, in my opinion.

Littlecaf · 08/12/2018 10:26

Once DS (now 1) was out of our room at 6m I wore earplugs. It muffled out the snuffling sounds but I could still here him cry for a feed. Best decision ever.

Littlecaf · 08/12/2018 10:30

I also realised that DH was wearing ear plugs. So now he doesn’t need feeding at night and we’re both at work, I wear ear plugs to “even it up” so to speak

iLevictoiChete · 08/12/2018 10:36

so long as there are no closed doors between me and the baby's room, it would be fine for me to wear an earplug in one ear. I sleep on my side so top ear gets the earplug. other ear is unplugged and can hear a baby cry but won't be woken by little snuffles.

when in the every-night-is-a-broken-night we either took turns to have full earplugs night by night or would swap half way through the night. DH can't do the one-earplug thing as he is a back-sleeper, but he managed to sleep through minor stuff that doesn't need attention anyway.

(baby stage is many years ago, but the joys of night time enuresis in an older child is quite similar)

ClaryFray · 08/12/2018 10:49

I'd never forgive myself of something happened. I'd rather be a zombie than be one of those statistics.

I'd be annoyed at how careless he's been tbh

peachgreen · 08/12/2018 10:57

I've worn earplugs since I was a teen (light sleeper) and I tried not wearing them when my DD was born and it was a disaster. Even when she was asleep I couldn't sleep. I hoped I'd get used to it and persevered for a couple of months but to no avail. Put my earplugs in and it was much better. Now she's in her own room, I have the monitor on the quietest setting and wear my earplugs and I still wake if she needs me. I sleep through the snuffles and little moans as she self-settles but hear her as soon as her sounds become more purposeful / awake. Have never woken to her crying as I always wake up long before she gets to that stage and go in to her.

Allthewaves · 08/12/2018 11:03

I used earplugs and started not lifting until they properly did a cry for a bottle as babies stir and sniffle and have a little moan then resetlle

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